Sport

Waddock unlikely to add to Oxford United squad before deadline

First published
in Sport
by David Pritchard, Chief Sports Reporter covering Oxford United. Follow us on twitter: @oxfordmailoufc. Call me on 01865 425458

OXFORD United are not planning to make any last-minute additions to their squad before the loan window closes today.

After 5pm, squads cannot be changed until after the end of the season.

Often, new managers have targets straight away, but Gary Waddock has no such plans in the wake of Monday’s 3-0 defeat at Southend.

United’s new head coach, unveiled on Saturday, is not expecting to do any business before the deadline.

His priority is on giving a chance to the players already in the squad.

“The squad is what it is, I have to assess the players that are here and be fair to them,” he said.

“The players have got us in this position in terms of the league table, so they have done something right throughout the season. “We have just got to make sure we put this (Southend) game to bed, learn from it and remain confident from now until the end of the season.”

The exception after the window closes is if clubs have an injury crisis affecting their goalkeeping department.

Such a situation hit United two seasons ago, when all their professional stoppers were ruled out.

It allowed them to field Middlesbrough’s Connor Ripley and Damian Martinez, from Arsenal, in the final two games of the campaign.

Comments (4)

Lack of ambition by OUFC. Look at the other clubs fighting for a play off place / promotion. They are all adding to their squads to get the final push over the line...we are just happy with what we have.

Lack of ambition by OUFC. Look at the other clubs fighting for a play off place / promotion. They are all adding to their squads to get the final push over the line...we are just happy with what we have.Doctor69

I think GW is towing the club line here and saving face saying he wants to work with what he's got.. After witnessing Monday's debacle, it's clear the addition of an experienced defender and a combative midfielder would work wonders in terms of application and morale boosting.. but IL has probably put the blockers on it..

I think GW is towing the club line here and saving face saying he wants to work with what he's got.. After witnessing Monday's debacle, it's clear the addition of an experienced defender and a combative midfielder would work wonders in terms of application and morale boosting.. but IL has probably put the blockers on it..London_Ox

Doctor69 wrote:
Lack of ambition by OUFC. Look at the other clubs fighting for a play off place / promotion. They are all adding to their squads to get the final push over the line...we are just happy with what we have.

We have, as a club, showed lack of ambition since the day Wilder ran out. Lenagans desire to take time to choose a new manager backfired badly. Lewis and Melville showed they contributed little if anything to the team. Seasons probably over but even if we did sneak into the play offs we've shown that we cannot beat any of the teams around us on present form.

[quote][p][bold]Doctor69[/bold] wrote:
Lack of ambition by OUFC. Look at the other clubs fighting for a play off place / promotion. They are all adding to their squads to get the final push over the line...we are just happy with what we have.[/p][/quote]We have, as a club, showed lack of ambition since the day Wilder ran out. Lenagans desire to take time to choose a new manager backfired badly. Lewis and Melville showed they contributed little if anything to the team. Seasons probably over but even if we did sneak into the play offs we've shown that we cannot beat any of the teams around us on present form.Richard Wickson